Future Trials
by Grinning Cheshire
Summary: After Miria Trunks killed the androids, he becomes the last defender of Earth. And just like Goku and Gohan learned, even the most hard-earned peaces never last. Will Trunks be up to the coming challenges as he helps rebuild his future? T for safety.
1. Chapter 1

**Future**** Trials: A DBZ Fan** **Fiction.**

First off, to anyone reading Dark Dire, I'll be updating it soon, I promise, I'm just suffering from writers block, and I thought this would be something fun to do to help me get over it.

Anyway, this story is my first attempt at something involving Maria Trunks (or Future Trunks, it doesn't matter, he'll just be called Trunks in this story) As well as my first time writing a Saga Story. (That's what I call stories that, rather having one endpoint, act as sort of their own series, with different villains a conflict appearing after the previous one dies or is defeated, as it is in the anime. This means I'll keep writing the story in my spare time till A: Nobody is reading it. B: I get tired of it. Or C: I finally find a place to end it. Again, this isn't my main story; just something I thought would be fun to do.)

Also, there will be moments of blood a slight gore through-out this story, if you don't like that kind of stuff…. Well, it doesn't happen that often.

Please remember to review.

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or any of the characters from the show.

**Future Trials.**

**Chapter 1: Ending the Terror.**

Sixteen years is a long time, an incredibly long time.

A boy can grow up from a baby to a teenager, which in itself feels like a lifetime.

A tree can grow from a tiny sapling to towering over the very person who planted it.

So much can happen in sixteen years, new cities can be built, new vehicles invented, even new planets discovered.

Yes, sixteen years is a long time, and it's even longer when the only feeling in the air is fear.

Fear of the androids.

May twelfth, that was the day they appeared, and since then they had made the world their playground, destroying and killing whoever they wished, showing mercy to no one, unless they simply planned to kill them later.

They were monstrous beings, created for destruction, but no one knew why.

Why would someone create such creatures? What purpose was accomplished by letting them destroy the world? And who was the one who created them in the first place?

Nobody knew the answers to these questions, well, nobody but him.

Trunks sighed as he gazed out the window of his old room at all the devastation in the city around him. Every once and awhile he spotted a stray dog or cat, but for the most part there was nothing but rubble and wreckage.

It kind of made him wish he was back at the Cell Games again.

The lavender haired Demi-Saiyan chuckled slightly at the thought of Cell. That android had gotten what was coming to him and by an eleven year old boy no less. He could imagine that the monster would be sulking in the Underworld for all eternity for that.

But that was in the past, a different past; one that was better than the one he had lived. While it was true that Goku had still died in the end, his warning had prepared the Z-fighters in the past, and allowed them to defeat the androids.

He had even gotten to help somewhat, and had died himself in the process.

Luckily they had the dragon balls; even if Shenron left a scar, it was better than winding up in the Otherworld.

The Otherworld, that's where everyone was now; though he had managed to save the past, his future was still unchanged. The androids still ran amuck, continuing to enjoy their twisted form of 'fun'.

He was the only one left, the only warrior, and Earth's sole defender; that might have sounded egotistical, had it not been true.

No human alive stood a chance against those machines, but he wasn't human, he was a Saiyan. And not just a Saiyan, he was a Super Saiyan.

A smirk that would have rivaled his father's came to his lips. Those androids wouldn't know what hit them.

For sixteen years he and his master had battled them, attempting to stop their rampage. Master Gohan had trained him since he was little, and had pushed him many times to achieve the legendary transformation.

He thought it sickly ironic that it had been his master's death that had finally pushed him to transforming. But even then he hadn't been able to best the androids.

Only now, he had returned after battling a creature far worse than the androids, they wouldn't be much of a problem to defeat.

He just had to find them.

He turned away from the window, and walked out of the room, closing the door carefully so it wouldn't fall off its hinges, he was growing sick of fixing it. As he walked down the abandoned hall of the Capsule Corp. building, he found his mind drifting.

The past had been so much different thanks to him; he remembered his battle with Frieza and his father, which he learned hadn't been necessary, and had only served to change the timeline further.

He also remembered his shock at finding the head of Android 19, and his confusion as to what exactly was going on.

He still actually didn't know why 19 had been created, as the machine didn't exist in this future. He assumed his appearance must have changed thing, especially since had his mini-bots watching them the whole time.

, the man who was responsible for the androids; now that he had returned to his own time, he had come to relish the memory of watching that mad-man's robotic head getting smashed by Android 17's foot. He wasn't sure why he enjoyed it, he normally detested mindless slaughter. But the simple thought that the destruction of his world was that maniacs fault fuelled a hatred inside of him that came close to hatred he felt for the androids.

He ended his thoughts as he reached the door to his mother's lab. He knocked twice before opening the door, again carefully so it wouldn't fall off its hinges. Rust and Saiyan strength do not mix well.

"Mom, any news yet?" The Demi-Saiyan asked hopefully. The blue haired scientist looked up from some blueprints she had been drawing, and sighing, shook her head.

"Not yet, either they aren't moving tonight or they attacked somewhere isolated. Nothing's come over the radio except a few requests for supplies for a shelter in East City, and about ten minutes of classical music."

Trunks groaned, and flopped down in a chair beside Bulma.

"Just great, the one time we went them to strike; they decide to take the day off, figures."

Bulma gave a slight smile, and patted her son's shoulder.

"Don't worry Trunks; if we don't locate them today, we have… Well, the rest of our lives to find them. But trust me, it won't be that long."

The young Saiyan nodded, but the worried look stayed on his face.

"I know mother, but now that I know that I can defeat them, I want to stop them before anyone else dies. They've killed too many already."

The blue haired woman stared at him for a second, before smiling.

"You have a strong sense of responsibility Trunks. I don't know where you got that from."

Trunks couldn't help but laugh, understanding what his mother meant.

"Yeah, I know. Meeting Dad was quite a shock, I wasn't expecting him to be so…"

"Arrogant? Rude? Egotistic? Overbearing?" Bulma suggested.

"Is there an 'All of the above'?" Trunks said, laughing. He sighed, and smiled.

"But really, it was great to meet him, and everyone else. I had to keep from laughing at seeing Master Gohan as a little kid."

Bulma giggled slightly at the memory of the boy with the bowl haircut.

"Oh, that's right. You went to the battle with Frieza and his father at first right?" She asked. Her and Trunks hadn't talked about his journey all that much, seeing that as soon as he got back, they got right back to work on the time machine.

"Yeah, kind of messed things up there, but nothing to do any damage to past; I just kind of fought Frieza before Goku got the chance." Trunks said, blushing slightly. It was actually embarrassing; the first thing he did when he went back in time was change history.

"That shouldn't cause any problems, now, tell me. Did you see Vegeta wearing his 'BadMan' shirt?" Bulma asked, trying to hold in her laughter at the memory.

"Yes, and I also saw you with an afro."

Bulma simply shook her head and kept laughing.

"I was just following the style back then, even if the style was stupid." Bulma explained. Suddenly, the radio buzzed to live.

"Hey, listen. Maybe we've got something." Bulma said, leaning forward.

The two listened intently, trying to make out something through the static, but it was hopeless. Frustrated, Bulma slammed her fist down on top of the machine.

"Darn it! This could be important! I'm going to try and see if I can get a better signal." The scientist said, turning the radio around. As she started fiddling with dials, Trunks remembered something very important. Something he couldn't believe he had almost forgotten.

He walked over to the only clear table in the broken down lab, and leaned over it. The only reason it was clear was because it was HIS table, to be used for HIS projects. And since he had spent most of his time, well, time-traveling; he hadn't used it for anything yet. Not that he would, Gohan and his mother were the inventors, not him.

However, he was glad he had it; it did serve one purpose for him. He put his hands on top of it, and closed his eyes.

"Riportare." He muttered, and the next second was glad he had to have his eyes closed for this.

A blinding light exploded from the table, and even with his eyes shut tight, he could still see the glare. Thankfully, it only lasted for five seconds.

'You'd think I would expect that, but I don't.'

Trunks smiled when looked down and saw a sheathed sword was now under his hands. He grabbed the hilt, and carefully pulled it out, examining it. He examined his reflection in the familiar steel blade; it was the same sword Android 18 had broken during their fight in the past, only it was completely repaired, and seemed to give off a faint blue glow.

'Huh, well that's new.'

As if sensing his thoughts, the glow faded, and the sword looked exactly as it did before.

'That glow… It was familiar...'

And then, Trunks remembered.

* * *

_The Half-Saiyan couldn't decide which was worse, the rain or the fact that he was standing out in the middle of a forest during it. It reminded him so much of the day Master Gohan died, which had been just over a year ago now. Sometimes Trunks wondered if it had stopped raining since that day._

_That was the day he transformed, the day he ascended, but at what cost? His master, his only friend, had died. And yet he was still as powerless as before. He couldn't beat the androids, even with this new power that came from being a Super Saiyan, he was still as useless as before._

_And now, Gohan wasn't here to save him. If the androids attacked him again, he wouldn't have a chance. He would be forced to sit back and watch people die, before they finally decided to kill him._

_Trunks let out a roar as he transformed, causing the rain around him to evaporate before it even touched the ground. All he could say was he was glad the androids couldn't sense energy, or they wouldn't have any trouble finding him right now._

_Trunks stood still for a minute, watching as the rain around him disappeared; and then he looked down at his hands, and the golden aura that surrounded them._

'_Was it worth it? Was Gohan's life worth this?' He silently asked himself._

_At that moment, something in Trunks' brain snapped._

'_I'll make it worth it!'_

_It wasn't but an hour or two later, yet the surrounding area was nothing but large craters and smoldering rubble. A gasping Super Saiyan lay on his hands and knees, exhausted from a very severe training session._

"_I'd… Make a decent android… I guess…" Trunks muttered, examining his handy work. He pushed himself to his feet, and tried to take a step, only to fall down into the mud. He strained to get his arms to work right, but the rain pelting his back seemed to be pushing him down. He coughed and spat, trying to get the mud out of his mouth. He tried three more times to push himself to his feet, but each time he failed, and his strength was dropping each second._

_Finally, his hair faded from golden to lavender, and the Half-Saiyan started to panic._

'_I couldn't have… injured myself… that badly, could I? I… Have to get up… Or else…'_

_A shudder went through his body as Trunks felt the last of his energy fade._

'_Crap…'_

_The next instant the Demi-Saiyan found himself blinking into… Sunlight? He pushed himself up, and realized he wasn't tired anymore, or injured for that matter. His clothes seemed to also be in perfect shape._

"_Am I…"_

"_Before you ask, no, you not dead."_

_Trunks jumped at the new voice, and started to look around frantically._

"_Who?" He started, but was cut off again._

"_Why don't you take a look around?"_

_There was something strange about the voice, like he'd heard it before, yet he hadn't; if that made sense. It was like something he knew he should have heard before, yet he hadn't till this moment._

_Taking the voice's advice, he started to walk, and look, around. Wherever he was, it was very green. There was grass growing everywhere, and the whole area seemed to be mostly hills. Way in the distance, he saw a tall rock spire, but between he and it was a large lake, that had a purplish tint to it._

"_There, you've looked around enough."_

_The voice was right behind him this time; he whirled around and saw a shorter man with a white mohawk. His skin was a light purple color, and he wore a strange blue and red outfit._

"_Who are you?" Trunks asked, feeling slightly nervous._

"_That is not important now, you will know in time. What is important is that I'm here to help you." The strange man said, walking up to the Saiyan. He stared at him hard for a moment, before smiling and nodding._

"_Yes, I was right about you. You do have what it takes…" He muttered, before walking back a few steps._

"_Tell me, Trunks. Have you ever used a sword before?"_

_Trunks blinked, and then shook his head. He could honestly say he had never been more confused. Yet, he had a strange feeling the man wasn't hostile, he hoped the feeling was right._

"_Well then, that's even better."_

_Trunks watched as the man walked even further away, and then turned back to Trunks, and smiled._

"_I have a gift for you. You won't understand it now, but it will come in handy later."_

_The man held out both of his hand, and closed his eyes._

"_Riportare."_

_The next second Trunks was blinded by a flash of light, he staggered back, hands over his face._

"_Sorry, I forgot to warn you." He head the mysterious man say in the exact same voice he been speaking in the whole time, to be honest it was disserting._

_When Trunks' vision cleared, he saw that the man was now holding a sheathed sword._

"_Here, this should help you. Make sure you practice with it before trying to use it in combat." The man said; suddenly, the sword was in Trunks' hands. He stared at it for a second, before grabbing its hilt and unsheathing it. He slowly moved it around, examining the blade._

"_I assume you like it?" The man asked his smiling growing slightly._

"_Yeah…" Trunks replied, still getting used to the swords weight._

"_Good, you'll need it."_

_Suddenly, a blue glow surrounded the sword, and a sharp pain struck the Demi-Saiyan, knocking him to the ground._

"_Enjoy your gift, I'll see you again, Trunks."_

_That was the last thing the teen heard, before his vision went black._

* * *

Trunks blinked; he realized he hadn't remembered about how he had gotten the sword before just then. He stared hard at the blade, but the glow had completely faded.

"Trunks! Come over here! I've got radio working!" Bulma yelled. The teen quickly dismissed his questions, and hurried over to his mother.

"Is it the androids?" He asked. Bulma just shrugged, and motioned for him to be quite.

"**Attention, the androids have attacked East City! I repeat, the androids are attacking East City!"**

'Unlucky for the city, lucky for us.' Bulma thought, before turning to Trunks. To her surprise, he was smiling.

"This is it. It's time for this all to end." He said, straightening up and putting on his sheath.

"Promise me you'll be careful."

Trunks just smiled, and nodded at his mother, before turning and hurrying out the door. As soon as his feet touched dirt, he blasted off into the sky.

As he flew, he caught glimpses of all the devastation the androids had caused over the years. Ruined cities, destroyed roads, totaled cars. It was all there doing.

"I hope you've enjoyed yourselves, androids, because after today the world will be rid of you for good!"

* * *

"Sis, what's got you so upset? You usually leave some parts of the building standing." The black haired, male android, known as Seventeen, commented. He watched as his blonde, female counter-part, Android Eighteen, decimated a whole city block with a couple of energy blasts.

"I don't know, I'm just in a bad mood today." Eighteen grumbled, not bothering to stop her barrage.

"Really? Well then, maybe you need a stress reliever… Let's see…" Seventeen said, examining the area around them, not seeing anything in the immediate area, he took into the sky.

'Not much here and Eighteen's liable to turn this whole city into dust soon. I'd really like to keep it intact; I might need a stress reliever one day too…'

Suddenly, a bit of movement caught the android's eye, and he whirled to follow it.

'Hold on... What's this?'

He stared, and caught it again, dashing behind some fallen debris.

'Well, this ought to do the trick.'

The android quickly landed beside his sister, who had started to destroy yet another section of the city, and tapped her shoulder.

"What do you want?"

Seventeen had to move quickly to dodge an energy blast, but he just smirked at his sister.

"I found a 'stress reliever.'"

* * *

'Please don't let them find me, please don't let them find me.'

A short red-haired girl was curled up into a ball behind the largest bit of rubble she could find. Due to the androids preoccupation with blowing up the city, they hadn't bothered looking for survivors, but she knew that was just as bad, as eventually she would either be found or blown to pieces.

'Oh, please. Oh please, don't let them find me.'

Suddenly, the stone and metal that she used as cover was completely obliterated, sending her flying face first across the concrete. She groaned, and did her best to ignore the pain and blood coming from her forehead. She pushed herself to her knees, raised her head, and found herself looking right into the faces of the androids.

"Think she'll do?" Seventeen asked, glancing at his sister.

"Yeah, this ought to be fun."

The red head was frozen in fear, so she didn't even react when Eighteen's foot slammed into her face, knocking down onto her back. The back of her head struck the concrete, and for a minute everything was black, until she felt a crushing force on her leg.

Eighteen smirked as the girl yelled out in pain; she looked down at her foot, which she had slammed down onto the girl's left leg, which was now bent completely sideways.

"Really? You're crying already? What a weakling."

The android let out a cruel laugh, and twisted her foot.

Even Seventeen winced slightly at the girl's screams, and he shook his head.

"Eighteen, can you shut her up? She's going to blow out my hearing."

The blonde android gave her brother a smirk, and shrugged.

"Sure, why not? I'm feeling better anyway."

Eighteen raised her foot and positioned it above the girl's throat.

"Say goodnight, missy."

Through her tears, the red-head's eyes grew.

'No, I don't want to die. Please…' The thought screamed through her mind, but she couldn't force the words out.

She closed her eyes, and waited for the end.

It didn't come.

Instead, she heard a yelp of alarm from the female android, and an explosion rang through the air the next second.

She opened one eye, and no longer saw the menacing face hovering over her. She managed to push her head up, just in time to see Eighteen climbing out of a fresh crater, and glaring at something in the air.

"Oh, look who it is Eighteen! Didn't expect to see you for another month or two." Seventeen said, smirking up at Trunks.

The Half-breed quickly surveyed the scene. Seventeen was just standing there, his usual smirk plastered on his face; Eighteen was climbing out of the crater her had put her in, courtesy of a quick Ki blast; and lying on the ground, her body shaking, was a young girl.

Blood ran down her face and onto her white shirt, her hair was braided behind her head, or at least it used to be, as now long strands of red hair ran down her back. But the thing that caught his attention the most was that her left leg was almost completely twisted.

Trunks felt his anger growing; he hated the sight of seeing someone so... brutalized. He turned his glare back to the androids as he touched down on the ground.

"Androids! It's over! Your terror is at an end! It's time for you to pay!"

"Oh, a dramatic speech, how boring." Seventeen said, yawning. Eighteen rolled her eyes at her brother, and glared back at Trunks.

"I'm really getting sick of this kid. Hey, Seventeen, I want to take him. He interrupted my fun after all."

The male android shrugged, and yawned again.

"Go ahead, he's no worth me wasting my energy."

"Oh no?" Trunks suddenly spoke up, a smirk etched on his face. "We'll see about that."

The wind suddenly picked up, and the ground began to shake, knocking lose debris off of ruins and sending them crashing down to the ground below. The Saiyan let out a yell, and in a flash of golden light, he transformed.

The now golden haired Super Saiyan glared at the androids.

"Still think I'm not worth your energy?"

The black haired android simply shrugged.

"We've beaten you in this form already, really, it's nothing new."

The smirk returned to Trunks' face, and he let out a slight chuckle.

"If only you could sense my power level, then you would realize how doomed you were."

Seventeen was about to respond, when Eighteen interrupted him

"I'm sick of you yammering on! Let's go! I'm ready to shut you up!"

Trunks sighed, and motioned with his hand.

"Come on then."

A second later the blonde android was flying towards him, at a speed human eyes couldn't follow, Trunks' eyes never left her fist, as it drew closer and closer to his face; it drew within two inches, and stopped.

Seventeen's eyes grew wide, and his mouth fell open.

The Half-Saiyan had thrown a punch right before Eighteen struck, and implanted his fist in the female androids stomach.

"You deserve far worse, consider yourself lucky." Trunks said, glaring at the android. Blood dripped from the corners of her mouth, and from around Trunks' hand.

For a second, Trunks stared into the androids eyes. He recognized the emotion he saw, it was fear.

Ironic, that a being that caused so much fear, would die feeling the same emotion.

"Goodbye, Android Eighteen."

A sudden explosion of energy, and the female android was no more.

Seventeen was aghast. There was no way his sister could be beaten, much less killed so easily. His astonishment quickly turned to anger, and he stepped toward the Super Saiyan.

"You… You killed her!"

Trunks turned, and glared at the android.

"Only fitting for a being that killed so many others."

The black haired killer clenched his fists, and took another step towards Trunks.

"Oh no pal. That's one mistake you aren't going to live to regret!"

Trunks sighed, and for a second is glare vanished.

"I'll tell you what, run away, and I promise your death will be painless. It's the least you deserve."

The android increased his pace, walking toward Trunks faster now. The Saiyan groaned, and his glare returned.

"So, that's how it has to be then? I guess dad was right, you machines are idiots."

That did it, Seventeen leapt at the Saiyan, and began a barrage of punches. However, each one was easily avoided by Trunks. Seventeen then quickly tried to swipe his legs with a kick, but Trunks leapt over it, and flipped over Seventeen's head. He landed, back to the android.

Seventeen saw his chance, and attacked; he brought his right arm back, and put all his power into one punch.

And a second too late realized the trap.

Trunks easily caught the punch, even behind his back, then quickly spun himself around, and grabbed his sword. As soon as it left its sheath, the sword struck its mark.

Seventeen screamed in pain, and stumbled backwards. His right arm had been cut clean off, and it collapsed to the ground in a shower of sparks. Blood dripped from the Android's wound, as well as several wires being visible.

"Do you see now Seventeen? You can't defeat me." Trunks said, stepping towards the wounded android.

"No! How is this… I'm stronger than…" Seventeen struggled to say, his mind a mix of confusion, anger, and pain.

"No you're not Seventeen. Face it, you've lost!" Trunks said, he smirked when he saw the same look in the android's eyes. Fear.

"You now know what all of those you slaughtered felt like don't you? It's a horrible feeling isn't it?"

The android didn't reply, he simply stumbled backwards a few more steps. Trunks leaned down, and picked up the Androids decapitated arm.

"You see this? This was for Gohan…" Trunks started, vaporizing the appendage in his hand, before drawing back his sword.

"And this is for everyone else!"

Trunks dashed forward, and swung the sword. Seventeen opened his mouth, but no sound came out, as the sword divided the android at the waist.

Trunks quickly tossed the weapon into the air, drew both of his hands to his sides, and concentrated, before thrusting them forward.

"Mega Burst Cannon!"

Before the two halves of Seventeen had completely divided, they were both obliterated by a huge blast of energy.

As the dust and ash cleared, Trunks stood there, unmoving, staring at the space where the android was last standing.

Then, he tilted his body to the right, and the sword landed in its sheath with a snap.

It was over, the androids were dead.

He had done it.

A smile crossed the Saiyan's face, after all these years, the terror had ended.

A groan suddenly drew his attention. He turned and saw the red haired girl attempting to push herself to a sitting position. Instantly Trunks rushed over, and helped her lean against a stone wall. The second she looked at him, he found himself in a huge hug. His first instinct was to jump back, until he felt the girl shaking. Slowly, he knelt down, and wrapped his arms around the crying girl.

"It's ok, you're safe now. Everyone is." Trunks said, trying to calm the girl.

The girl held herself against him, and to be honest Trunks was feeling awkward. Finally, the girl pulled slightly away from him.

"Thank you." She barely whispered, her body still shook, but a slight smile was on her face. That is, until she cried out in pain.

"What's wrong?" Trunks asked. 'Besides the obvious.'

"My… Leg. They... Broke it." The girl stammered out, still wincing against the pain.

Trunks looked down at her leg, and he didn't have to have a doctorate to know it was completely broken. **(A/N: I was going to describe it but my own pain tolerance level wouldn't let me)**

Trunks' brow furrowed, something like that wouldn't be easy to fix, if it could be fixed at all.

"Can I take you with me? My mom's incredibly smart; she'll be able to take care of your leg." Trunks asked, he actually was going to take her whether she consented or not, he wasn't able to leave her alone, especially since she was also still bleeding.

"Ok…" The girl said. Trunks carefully picked her up, being sure not to hurt her broken leg.

"Hey, if I can ask, what's your name?"

The girl, who had closed her eyes when he picked her up, muttered softly.

"Rose."

Trunks thought about this for a second. He had never met someone named after a flower before.

He liked the name.

With that thought, he took off towards home.

**((And that's chapter 1. To be honest it was a lot longer than I meant it to be, oh well. I plan on continuing with Trunks' life after he defeated the Androids. I already have some plots ready, but what do you guys think? Should I keep writing this? Please remember to review.))**


	2. Finally at Peace

**Future Trials: Chapter 2.**

Thanks to xxSassyGirlxx, Gokurules98 and Abbieouji for your reviews. I really appreciate them.

This chapter will involve at least one time skip, so just a warning.

Also, sorry for taking so long, I really didn't mean too. In return, I have written a really terrible chapter. Wait, what? Sorry, next chapter will be better, promise.

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ; if I did it would probably suck.

**Chapter 2: Finally At Peace.**

Bulma Briefs watched as her lavender haired son took off into the sky, not taking her eyes off of him till he disappeared in the clouds. She turned, walked back inside the old Capsule building, closing the door behind her. She sat down at her desk and waited for Trunks to return.

He had told her he was able to defeat the androids, and she knew she was supposed to trust him, but she couldn't help but worry. Her mind kept picturing images of her son, lying bloodied and broken, while the two androids stood over him and laughed.

She quickly shook her head, she knew better then to think of that, Trunks would be fine… She hoped.

Sighing, she reached down into her coat pocket, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. She needed a smoke.

Slowly breathing out the smoke, she looked up to the cracked tile ceiling, and shook her head.

'Vegeta, wherever you are, please keep Trunks safe.'

As it turned out, she needed more than one cigarette. She was on her third smoke when she heard a heavy footfall outside, followed by several lighter steps. She quickly ran to the door, and threw it open. A huge smile appeared on her face when she saw Trunks walking towards her, then she noticed that he was carrying someone is his arms.

"Oh my…" She said, her voice barely above a whisper, as she gazed down at the wounded girl in her son's arms.

"Mom, she's in pretty bad shape, I need to get her taken care of."

Nodding, Bulma turned and rushed back into the building, leading the way to the room they used as an infirmary. As she semi-ran, she couldn't help but smile in relieve. Trunks was alive.

As Trunks laid the girl down on a small grey table, Bulma grabbed a few disinfectants and a bandage. She quickly cleaned the girl's head wound and wrapped it, then turned her attention to her leg.

"Wow, I haven't seen anything this bad since Gohan got his arm shattered…" The blue haired woman muttered as she pulled up the girl's pants leg.

"Do you think we'll have too… amputate it?" Trunks asked, wincing as he said the word.

"I can't tell yet, but let's hope not." Bulma told him.

As Bulma examined the girl's leg, Trunks took the time to actually look the girl over. Now that they had cleaned the blood of her face, he finally got to see her features. The most noticeable thing was that her face looked young, like she was in her early teens. Her red hair had been in braids, but now ran freely about halfway down her back. Her eyes were closed, but he remembered them being a light green color.

She had on a white t-shirt, which was now blood-stained. It was slightly baggy, and long sleeved. It also had a tear along the side, which he guessed it gained thanks to the androids.

She was also wearing blue jean pants, and white sneakers. In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but peg her as a tomboy.

"So, Trunks. What happened? Are the androids…?" Bulma asked as she started to wrap the girl's leg.

"Yes, they're dead. I destroyed both of them." Trunks finished, nodding his head.

Bulma looked up at him, and smiled.

"Finally, so it's all over?"

'Not completely, there is still one more thing left to take care of. But he won't be much of a problem, no need to worry mom. I can kill Cell easily.' Trunks thought, smirking slightly outwardly. But he just nodded to answer his mother.

Bulma's smile grew, and she let out a light laugh.

"I hope you made them suffer, it's the least they deserved after all they've done."

Trunks thought about this for a second. He had known he could beat the androids easily, so really there had been no need to kill them as quickly as he did. But right then he had been too focused on destroying them to think about torturing the androids.

"Not really, but I know they finally felt how we have all these years, I made sure they did." Trunks answered, shrugging slightly. He had never been one for torturing his opponents anyway.

Bulma just waved her hand that it didn't matter, and finished wrapping the red haired girl's leg.

"So, what's this one's story? She's pretty beaten up." The scientist asked.

Bulma wasn't exaggerating, even though they had taken care of the worse wounds, the girl's skin was still covered with numerous cuts as well as a nasty bruise on the back of her head. She had passed out a few minutes into the flight back, but seemed to be resting now.

"I'm not completely sure, when I found the androids Eighteen was about to kill her. I stopped her just in time. Before she passed out I asked her what her name was, she said Rose, but I'm not sure if that's really her name or not." Trunks told his mother, turning his head to look at the girl's face. He did have to admit, she was pretty.

"Oh, well at least you found her in time. She should be fine, unless there are some internal injuries." Bulma said, muttering the last part.

"I hope she'll be alright." Trunks sighed. After killing the androids, he didn't want to allow them the pleasure of taking one last victim with them to the afterlife.

* * *

Rose groaned as she awoke and tried to force her eyes to open, only to find that they wouldn't budge.

'Ugh, what a headache. Was I drinking again?'

She finally managed to push one eyelid opened, and examined her surroundings. One quick look around, and she realized she had no idea where she was. Suddenly, an overwhelming pain shot through her. She looked down at her leg, and found it wrapped in a bandage. She also found that when she tried to move it, it sent another shockwave of pain through her. She grit her teeth to keep from crying out.

'Wow, what the heck happened…'

Then she remembered. The androids, her leg being broken, the menacing face above her… And then him, the golden haired guy. He had saved her, and destroyed the androids.

Destroyed the androids.

The upper half of her body sprang up from the table she had been lying on. The androids were dead! She had seen them being destroyed with her own eyes. And then, she had started crying.

From fear, from pain, and from relieve. She wasn't one to cry, as she had never been a drama queen. But when she did, it always lasted awhile.

She also remembered the golden-haired guy holding her, telling her that everything was alright. But by then she had begun to pass out, and she couldn't remember what happened next.

But that still didn't tell her where she was.

"Oh! Finally, you're up! I was beginning to worry." A woman's voice broke her out her thoughts, she turned her head to the door of the room and saw a blue haired woman, wearing grease stained overalls and a yellow shirt with the words 'Capsule Corp.' and bearing the company's logo.

Well, that answered where she was.

"What happened?" She asked, trying to push herself up a little further. This only resulted in a jolt of pain running through her.

"Now, just lie down. You're pretty bruised up, especially your leg. As for what happened, I honestly don't know. My son brought you back here, and told me you were attacked by the androids." The woman said, walking over to Rose and gently pushing back down onto the table. It was then Rose realized there was a pillow under her head, and she felt relaxed as soon as her head touched it.

"Your son brought me here?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, his name's Trunks. But I'll let him tell you the whole story when he wakes up. In the meantime, you go back to sleep. You need your rest." The blue haired woman turned and started to leave the room.

"Wait," Rose started, causing the woman to turn back around.

"Yes?"

"Does your son have gold hair?" Rose asked. The woman smiled when she saw the hopeful gleam in the girl's eye.

"Yes and no."

"Huh?"

The woman just shook her head, and turned back around.

"As I said, I let him explain it to you. Just rest."

Rose sighed, and lay her head back down on the pillow, suddenly feeling extremely tired.

As Bulma watched the sleeping girl, she couldn't help but smirk. Trunks had a lot of explaining to do when we woke up.

* * *

"It's you!"

Trunks almost tipped over in the chair he had been sitting in. After he had woken up his mother told him to keep an eye on the girl, as she had a few important things to take care of. He had decided to move her to a bed, as a table wasn't exactly the best place to rest. Luckily she hadn't woken up.

He turned to look at the girl, who was now sitting up in bed, staring at him.

"Oh, you're awake." Trunks said, standing up. "How are you feeling?"

The girl didn't answer, but just continued to stare at him, a smile forming on her lips.

"You… You're the one who beat the androids right?" She asked just as Trunks was about to repeat his question.

"Yes, that was me." Trunks replied, giving a very slight shrug.

At this the girl's smile grew, but a second later was replaced with a look of confusion.

"But… Your hair was gold then, why is it purple now?"

Trunks sighed, running a hand through his hair, which was a habit he had developed back in the past.

"It's a transformation that increases my power. When I use it my hair and eyes change color." Trunks replied. The girl nodded that she understood, but the confused look remained.

"But you could fly, and shoot energy blasts! I've never seen anybody do that! Plus, everyone that's tried to fight the androids was easily killed, but you destroyed them like they were nothing! How did you…"

The girl was cut off by Trunks, who actually laughed a little at all the questions.

"Tell you what. I'll answer any questions you have, if you answer one for me."

The girl blinked, and then shrugged.

"Ok."

Trunks smiled, and knelt down next to her.

"How are you feeling?"

Rose blushed, realizing she had ignored the guy's concern entirely. She had just been too focused on who he was.

"Better, my leg still hurts, but not nearly as badly, and nothing else is sore."

The lavender-haired teen smiled, and nodded his head.

"Good, that means the medicine is working."

He sighed, and straightened up.

"Ok, so… You're name is Rose right?"

Rose nodded.

"And you are?"

"Trunks Briefs." The boy answered, the very slightest hint of embarrassment evident is his voice about his full name. He started to blush when he heard Rose laughing.

"I'm sorry, but that's just such a strange name." Rose said once she finished laughing. She took one look at Trunks' red face and cracked up again.

"So… What were those questions again?" Trunks asked, sighing.

'This is why I never tell people my name…'

Nearly half an hour later, Trunks finished explaining to Rose about Ki, and how it allowed him to fly, and use energy attacks.

"So, this Ki stuff is how you beat the androids?" She asked, staring at the small ball of energy that levitated above the boy's hand.

"Well, it helped. Ki isn't useful on its own, one has to learn to control it, use it effectively, and strengthen it. I had to train a lot to get my power level as high as it is, and Ki is really only useful if you integrate it into your fighting style."

Rose nodded, slowly. She wasn't sure if she understood it all, or if she actually understood any of it. She had never been one for fighting, and all Trunks' talk about it went over her head a little.

"But, I still don't get it. The androids could use energy too, so how where you able to beat them?"

Trunks just sighed; this was the long part of the story.

"For a long time I wasn't able too. Then finally my mother made a time machine, which allowed me to go back to before the androids arrived. Only my arrival there changed things, and made them even more powerful."

Trunks saw her face, and laughed a little.

"Let me explain. When I went back in time, I created an alternate timeline. Things went differently there, but they had no affect on our timeline."

"I'm… Confused." Rose said, rubbing her forehead.

"Don't worry, it's not really important. Basically, I was able to train with the warriors who were still alive at that time, and increase my strength way beyond the androids in this time. A lot more happened, but that story can wait."

Rose sighed, and shook her head.

"I really don't get it. You went back and time, and became strong enough to beat the androids. Is that right?" She asked, staring at Trunks, hoping she had it correct.

"Right, once I came back from the past, I had to wait till the androids attacked before I could find them. They're not real, so I couldn't sense their Ki."

"Sense their... Never mind, I don't want to know." Rose said, shifting her position on the bed.

They were silent for a moment, and then Trunks turned to face her.

"Rose, can I ask you something?"

The red head nodded, looking at him curiously.

"You don't have a place to stay, do you?"

Rose shrugged.

"Not really. See, my parents were killed about ten years ago, but my uncle took me to the shelter in East City. He took care of me there, but then…"

She gulped, looking down at the bed.

"He… went on a supply run, and never came back. I didn't have any other family at the shelter, so I had to take care of myself for the next three years. Then, the androids found us… You know the rest."

Rose closed her eyes, and leaned against her pillow. She hadn't had any 'friends' at the shelter, but she had come to know some of the people there pretty well. And now…

She guessed she had started crying, but she didn't realize it. She never coped well with the idea of death, and she really hated thinking about it.

Ironic, seeing as death had been a common occurrence in the last sixteen years.

She suddenly noticed a warm presence on her arm; she opened her eyes and saw Trunk kneeling next to her again, giving her a sympathetic smile.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you. I know what it's like to lose someone close to you."

She nodded, knowing that he must have. Heck, everyone had lost someone.

"Your father?" She asked, wiping a tear off her cheek.

"Well, yes and no. He died too early for me to remember him. I mean my master, Gohan. He was killed fighting the androids. In-fact, it was his death that allowed me to do this."

Rose's eyes grew wide as, in a flash of golden light, Trunks' lavender hair turned golden, and his blue eyes turned teal.

"You see, this transformation used to require sever emotions, such as anger, or grief. When my master died, it unlocked this form for me. It's really easy for me to use now." Trunks explained.

"Wow…" Was the only thing Rose said, she was still mesmerized by the boy's gold hair.

Trunks knelt there for awhile, starting to feel awkward as Rose kept staring at him. Finally, he spoke up.

"It's called the Super Saiyan transformation, it increase my power far beyond normal. Well, when I power up anyway."

This apparently broke Rose out of her trance, and an amused look crossed her face.

"Super Saiyan? Why is it called that?"

Trunks just groaned. He hoped, for the sake of his ears, she didn't scream when he explained it.

* * *

**Three Weeks Later:**

The early morning sun shown down on from the cloudless sky, its reflection visible all across the vast ocean. The waters were clear, and a few waves lapped over each other; that is, until a fast moving golden ball of light tore over them, causing the water to rise up to huge heights on both sides of it. It continued its course, crossing the large ocean in a matter of seconds. Over the roar of its travel, wild laughter could be heard.

The large ball of golden light continued to speed along, until finally it reached a large island. There, it crashed to the shore, sending up sand and rocks into the air.

As the cloud of debris faded, a golden haired teen moved his hand away from the face of the girl he was carrying.

"You ok Rose?" Trunks asked, looking down at the smaller girl in his arms.

Rose coughed, and then grinned up at him.

"That was awesome Trunks! I had no idea anything could fly that fast!"

Trunks smiled down at the girl. The two had become close friends over the past month, something Trunks was glad had happened. He had been worried admitting his heritage to her, but she had accepted it pretty calmly, going so far as to say him being half alien was 'cool'.

After that she had confessed to being 16, which was actually younger than Trunks had expected, as she looked to be about 13 or 14. When he told her this, she simply laughed and blushed.

Later, Bulma returned from whatever she had been doing, and joined their conversation. It turned out she had gone to inform some 'key people' of the androids defeat. This became obvious when their talk was interrupted by the sound of gun shots and cheers.

Of course, Bulma hadn't told them who had defeated the androids, Trunks hated publicity, so the world was left to wonder.

Trunks and Bulma had immediately begun helping with reconstruction, when they weren't spending time with Rose. The girl still wasn't able to move on her own, and Bulma said that, until they got the proper equipment, she wouldn't be able too. So Trunks spent a lot of time talking with the girl, to keep her from getting bored. That, and he enjoyed her company.

He had also kept busy training. There were several reasons, he wanted to keep gaining strength, as well as be ready to defend the Earth against any future threats. But he also wanted to figure out more about his sword. He kept practicing with it, trying to make it glow again, but even once he broke it in training and had to use the code word to restore it, the glow didn't return. For some reason it was bothering him.

Today, however, he wasn't thinking about that. Rose had asked if he would take her with him to where he trained, as she was bored being stuck inside Capsule Corp. After talking with his mother, who said it was ok, Trunks agreed.

And so, here they were.

Walking over to one of the trees just off the shore, he laid Rose down and leaned her against it, making sure her leg was comfortable.

"Ugh, I feel like such an invalid." Rose groaned, glaring down at her broken leg.

"That's because you are." Trunks joked, rubbing the top of her head.

Rose batted her hand at him, but smiled just the same.

"Oh, whatever. I bet an alien like you has never broken a bone." She retorted.

At this Trunks laughed dryly.

"You have no idea."

He walked out onto the beach, but stayed in sigh of Rose. He would have to take it easy today, so he wouldn't put her in danger.

"So, what do you do first?" Rose asked, putting her hands behind her head.

"Normally, stretches, but the flight over took care of that, I usually don't go that fast."

"And that's why you always get back so late."

Trunks just shook his head.

"Anyway, I'm going to do some shadow boxing, then work on my Ki techniques."

Rose shrugged.

"Sounds like fun, just make sure I can see you doing it."

Trunks nodded, and gave an ok sign with his hand. Since he was already in Super Saiyan form, he didn't have to power up.

With a yell, his aura flared around him, and he leapt into the air.

Rose stared wide-eyed; trying to follow what was going on. Every once and awhile she caught glimpses of Trunks' movement, but other than that she couldn't see anything.

'And he said he was going to take it easy today, how powerful is he? He's… He's… Awesome!'

Suddenly, Trunks froze, his eyes fixed on the sky. Quickly, he dropped down, his landing launching sand into the air.

"Trunks? What's wrong?" Rose asked, seeing the look on the teen's face.

The next second, Trunks was standing next to her, and lifting her up.

"Hey! What's –ouch- going on?" She demanded, wincing as a jolt of pain shot through her leg.

Trunks realized he had hurt her, and blushed, but he didn't stop his movement as he took into the air.

Rose opened her mouth to protest again, but Trunks answered her before she could.

"Something's coming, something bad. Really bad."

* * *

**Meanwhile:**

"Are you sure that's its heading?"

A short, blue skinned figure, who was currently on one knee, nodded.

"Yes, my lord. All of the computers confirm it. The planet's name is…"

"Earth." A deep voice cut off the figure, causing him to look up at his master.

"But, how did you…"

"Salza," The purple skinned figure interrupted again, his back to his lackey, "Do you not recognize the planet's name?"

Salza thought for a moment, before his eyes suddenly popped open.

"It… Can't be…"

"Yes, it's the same planet Frieza and my father were both killed upon, both by a single Saiyan."

The blue skinned alien smirked.

"And now, our target has fled there. It has to mean something!"

"Or it's just a coincidence. Either way, it's an opportunity I cannot afford to pass up." His master corrected.

"Yes my lord. It is… Killing two bird with one stone, correct?"

"Right. Now, assemble Neizu and Dore. We're about to go monkey hunting."

"Yes Lord Cooler." Salza said, bowing and hurrying out of the main chamber of the space ship.

Cooler turned and looked out the glass orb to gaze at the small speck that was starting to grow larger as the ship approached the planet.

"Prepare yourself, Saiyans. You're end is at hand."

* * *

**((Yeah yeah, I know. Long wait and crappy chapter. I'm sorry, next one will be better, promise.))**

Please remember to review.


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